Beitar Jerusalem set for crunch championship showdown in Beersheba

Beitar Jerusalem coach Bar Itzhaki. (credit: YEHUDA HALICKMAN)

Dan Bitton had been such a critical piece of the puzzle, with 15 goals to lead the league, but is now out injured due to a heart issue as his scoring and playmaking abilities are going to be unavailable for the final 10 matches of the campaign. However, Kings Kangwa has turned up the notch on his attacking ability and can’t stop scoring goals. It seems that every time he has sniffed the ball this past month, it lands up in the back of the net. With 10 goals and five assists. The 27-year-old Zambian was on his way out not once but twice, when he went to the African Nations Cup and more recently due to the war with Iran, but he’s still here and not only that, he’s better than ever.

Add to the mix Igor Zlatanovic, who scored a brace against Petah Tikva and looks to have finally found his stride since joining Beersheba from Netanya, along with coach Ron Kozuk, who seems to turn everything he touches into gold.

Beitar is no slouch; Itzhaki has many different weapons at his disposal

But Beitar is no slouch either, with so many different weapons at coach Barak Itzhaki’s disposal.

From his target men up front – Gonzalez and Kalu – to endless attacking by Omer Aztily (10 goals, six assists) and captain Yarden Shua (13 goals, five assists), along with so many other players who can turn a game around on a dime, the yellow-and-black is a threat for the top spot.

As much as Beersheba doesn’t want to believe it, Beitar can match up to it mano-a-mano and has only matured since the last time they met a number of months ago.

Maccabi Haifa, who visited a packed Teddy Stadium, would normally have been a good test ahead of a showdown with Beersheba, but that’s not the case with this version of the Greens. Barak Bachar and Lior Refaelov will have their hands full over the next few months going through a rebuild of sorts as they desperately have to renew and reinvigorate a squad that looks like a dead horse that has already been to the glue factory and back.

The Greens could not get anything going offensively as Beitar pressured Haifa from the get-go. When Bachar made a triple substitution at the 60th minute, a move that Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Ronny Deila employed last week against the Greens in the Israel State Cup semifinal at Teddy to change the entire complexion of the game.

It was clear that Bachar was hoping for the same, but it was not to be as the players who came on – including a much-maligned Trivante Stewart – started to backpedal soon thereafter and let in not one, but two, goals to close out the game.

Perhaps the Haifa of old would have been able to find a way of creating some sort of havoc and quality chances, but Beitar just kept playing as it had done for the opening hour until it made some moves to refresh the players on the pitch to run off with the win.

Itzhaki has done a marvelous job in managing Beitar this season and keeps pressing the right buttons along with making the correct moves. Despite having a pair of regulars in Adi Yona and Yarin Levy on the shelf with injuries, the former star striker seems to always find the right formula to make up for the loss of key players who may not be available. Just last week, in the Jerusalem derby, Itzhaki pulled another couple of rabbits out of his hat when he started Dor Hugi and Ziv Ben Shimol in place of Shua, who was out due to yellow card accumulation, as well as for the injured Yona and Levy.

Both replacements contributed in the win over Hapoel Jerusalem while Ben Shimol was once again in the starting lineup in the Haifa victory and drew the penalty that led to Shua’s goal to break the deadlock, while also sending Dor Micha a magnificent through-ball in the box that led to the third goal.

As Itzhaki has gotten more comfortable with his squad, he’s been able to mix and match the players and find the right formula for almost every situation imaginable. That also includes the defense, as well as a goalkeeper who has now recorded two clean sheets in a row for the first time this season.

With those two shutouts, 2-0 in the derby and 3-0 against Haifa, Jerusalem is now just one marker behind Beersheba in goal differential, which could end up being crucial as the season comes to a close. Shua explained that the Beitar players have been working hard on this aspect of their game, and that they are one unit in which everyone understands what to do. Itzhaki also commented about how the defense doesn’t start only with the defenders, it starts with high pressure – and that the more aggressively Beitar presses on offense, the more the defense benefits.

The defense is clearly something that Itzhaki has made a point to concentrate on because he knows that on some days he may not have his best offensive form, but can always have his best defense as long as the effort is there. He is also very aware that defense wins championships, and that’s going to be the club’s big test in the championship playoffs.

There’s no question that Luka Gadrani and Brayan Carabali, who scored his first goal of the season against Haifa, are anchoring the back line while Nana Antwi along with Yarden Cohen has been superb on the flanks. However, Grigori Morozov, Gil Cohen, Roei Elimelech and Uri Dahan are all capable defenders coming off of the bench and as Itzhaki has said time and time again, he has trust in every single player that wears the yellow-and-black.

Beitar clearly has the horses to compete for the title and is now so close to the top of the table as it breathes down the neck of Beersheba, which is very well aware that it is being targeted. Kozuk and the Southern Reds are not blind to that fact and will do everything in their power to ensure that they take home the championship that they should have won last season before coming up just short.

The championship will undoubtedly go down to the wire with both teams wanting to take the gold, however only one will be able to. As Shua put it, Beitar knows what type of opportunity it has in front of it, but that it is also not as experienced in a title race, which is where Itzhaki comes into play, having been involved with plenty such experiences over the years as a player with Beitar Jerusalem and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Itzhaki is connected to the club’s great past and was a part of the 2006/07 championship, the first of two in a row for the yellow-and-black, which also happens to be the last league titles that the club has won. That is not just a trivial fact, but one that will be able to benefit each and every one of his players as they face the pressure that he had once experienced.

Now Itzhaki guides his charges as he comes full circle in what has been a special season to date for Beitar fans. The big question that now remains is can he finish the job and reach the promised land?

See more Israeli sports coverage at www.sportsrabbi.com/en